By Kamil Kowalcze | Updated on Oct 08, 2026 at 03:03 PM
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said he’s been coordinating his stance on UniCredit SpA’s takeover of Commerzbank AG with counterparts in the state of Hesse and the city of Frankfurt, indicating he’s seeking a common approach to a deal that’s set to affect all three administrations.
Speaking at the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg, Klingbeil said he presented his position to Hesse Prime Minister Boris Rhein and Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef before meeting UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel last month. He added he had similar communications with Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp, Chairman Jens Weidmann and the lender’s works council.
UniCredit is set to take control of Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest lender, after having secured a stake of just under 50%. CEO Andrea Orcel has said that will happen once he’s got all necessary regulatory approvals, which the lender predicts could come before the year is over.
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The takeover is set to affect Germany in several ways. Commerzbank is headquartered in Frankfurt, which is in the federal state of Hesse, while UniCredit’s German unit HVB is based in Munich, Bavaria. Orcel has said he may seek to merge the two banks after a couple of years, which could lead to as many as 7,000 job cuts across Germany.
The German government, which owns about 13% of Commerzbank, is seeking concrete commitments from Orcel. Among other things, Berlin expects guarantees that UniCredit will preserve Commerzbank’s stock-market listing and its Frankfurt base, people familiar with the matter have said .
Orcel also met with Hesse’s Rhein last month, who presented similar demands, other people familiar with the matter have said . Rhein also asked that Commerzbank keep its name and brand following a possible merger with UniCredit’s HVB unit, and that its corporate banking business won’t be transferred.
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The UniCredit CEO has said that a likely voting majority at Commerzbank shareholder meetings will allow him replace “all shareholder representatives” on the supervisory board, which would include Weidmann. He has also said that this would enable him to replace Commerzbank’s top management including Orlopp, arguing that would make it easier for him to implement his plan for the firm.
“We continue to want strong financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, we are also counting on Frankfurt as the central location of Commerzbank, and of course for us it is also about the interests of the employees,” Klingbeil said on Thursday. “It was a constructive conversation that I had with Mr. Orcel, and of course we are also continuing to be in contact.”